A huge battery storage facility in West Lothian has been given the go-ahead as the Scottish Government pushes on with extending the range of renewable energy sources.

Submitted early last year, OnPath Energy’s £130m facility has been approved by the Government’s Energy Consents Unit (ECU).

When fully charged, the 200-megawatt project on a two-hectare site will have the capacity to meet peak electricity demands for approximately 240,000 homes for two hours, or sustain the average energy needs of around 600,000 households over the same period.

Pond Flexible Energy Park near Bathgate will store power when consumer demand is low and release it back to the national grid when demand is high.

Michael Newton, sustainability developer at OnPath Energy, said: “Battery storage sites such as Pond are going to have a huge role to play in achieving net zero.

“Not only that, but beyond its environmental impact, Pond will deliver significant social and economic benefits to the local economy.”

During construction, the project will support around 80 jobs.

A number of large-scale BESS projects have been approved. Among the most recent, renewable energy storage specialist Apatura said its 400-megawatt capacity BESS – one of the largest of its type in the UK – near Stirling would cover 11.2 hectares of land.

Record renewables

A record 38.4 Terawatt hours (TWh) of renewable electricity was generated in Scotland in 2024 – a 13.2% increase compared from 33.9 TWh in 2023.

Renewable energy capacity has also increased, up 14.3% to 17.6 Gigawatts (GW) from 15.4 GW in 2023.

Responding to the findings, Acting Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Our ambition is for Scotland to become a global leader in clean, secure energy.

“These welcome figures highlight how we continue to increase in the amount of renewable electricity we generate, bringing huge economic opportunities to our country – with net electricity exports alone last year with an indicative value of £1.5 billion.

“Scotland has the talent, skills and resources in abundance to support a thriving renewable energy industry. We will continue to maximise the economic benefits that come from renewable energy and help secure a just transition for our communities, skilled workforce and supply chain.”